General Motors reported a much stronger than expected fourth-quarter profit, lifting full-year results to record levels for the second straight year.
The largest US automaker also said Tuesday it is buying a $650 million equity stake in Lithium Americas, which will give it access to the raw material needed to build batteries to power 1 million electric vehicles a year in the first phase of production.
For the quarter, GM earned adjusted earnings of $3 billion, or $2.12 a share, up from $1.35 a share a year earlier and far better than forecasts of $1.69 a share from analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. That lifted full-year adjusted income to $11 billion, up from the $10.4 billion it earned in 2021, which had been its previous record.
The company said it expects strong earnings in 2023, though it expects it to slip a bit from the just posted levels, coming in at between $8.7 billion to $10.1 billion. But company CFO Paul Jacobson said its automotive business is expected to remain strong, with much of the decline likely to be at GM Financial. That’s due to the hit it will take from higher interest rates and the sinking value of used cars, as well as the higher interest rates resulting in an accounting hit to pension earnings.
“Actually that [guidance] is a strong statement about where we see things going, stronger than others” he told journalists on a call Tuesday.
Jacobson told journalists that GM does not expect to follow Tesla and Ford in cutting the prices for its electric vehicles.
“I don’t think there’s any surprise there’s increasing competition in the EV space,” he said. “Our customers are saying we’re priced well based on the demand that we’re seeing.”
The company’s investment in Lithium Americas is part of the company’s efforts to lock-up the supply of raw materials it will need to convert from traditional gasoline powered cars to electric vehicles. The Lithium Americas deal will not supply any lithium to the company until 2026, but Jacobson told media that “we’ve already achieved all the lithium we need through 2025.”
GM expects to build 70,000 EVs this year, a small fraction of its overall vehicle output. It sold 5.9 million vehicles in 2022, down about 6% from 2021 due to the shortage of parts needed to build all the vehicles for which there was demand.
“We continue to face some supply chain and logistics issues, but overall, things remain trending in the right direction,” said Jacobson.
But the company expects to be rapidly increasing its EV supply and offerings, with a new battery plant that opened last year, two more under construction and a fourth planned soon. GM has a target to build 400,000 EVs through the middle of 2024, and 1 million annually by 2025.
CEO Mary Barra predicted there will be more deals like the Lithium Americas one to be announced soon.
“We continue to pursue strategic supply agreements and partnerships to further secure our long-term needs,” she told investors.
GM said it will reduce its staff in 2023, part of its effort to cut $2 billion in costs over the next two years. But unlike a number of major companies that have announced layoffs in recent months, company officials stressed GM would not be shrinking through layoffs. Instead the reduction would be handled through attrition.
GM did not disclose how many jobs might be trimmed, with Jacobson saying the company would end this year “slightly lower” in headcount.
GM has 167,000 employees globally, with 124,000 in North America. That includes more than 42,000 members of the United Auto Workers union. Those workers will get profit sharing bonuses of an average of $12,750 for the year, up nearly 25% from the $10,250 they received a year earlier.
Shares of GM
(GM) soared more than 5% in pre-market trading on the results.
Companies say do not expect major impact on performance
OTTAWA/BEIJING, Nov 2 (Reuters) – Canada ordered three Chinese companies on Wednesday to divest their investments in Canadian critical minerals, citing national security.
China in response accused Ottawa of using national security as a pretext and said the divestment order broke international commerce and market rules.
As countries compete to shore up reserves of materials needed for a transition to a cleaner economy, the news pushed down the Chinese companies’ shares on Thursday, although they said in stock exchange filings they did not expect a major impact on their performance.
The three ordered to divest their investments are Sinomine (Hong Kong) Rare Metals Resources Co Ltd, Chengze Lithium International Ltd, also based in Hong Kong, and Zangge Mining Investment (Chengdu) Co Ltd.
The Canadian government ordered the divestiture after “rigorous scrutiny” of foreign firms by Canada’s national security and intelligence community, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.
“While Canada continues to welcome foreign direct investment, we will act decisively when investments threaten our national security and our critical minerals supply chains, both at home and abroad,” Champagne said.
Sinomine was asked to sell its investment in Power Metals Corp (PWM.V), Chengze Lithium was asked to divest its investment in Lithium Chile Inc (LITH.V) and Zangge Mining required to exit Ultra Lithium Inc (ULT.V).
‘UNREASONABLE’
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the Canadian government was using national security as a pretext to block normal cooperation between Chinese and Canadian companies and was damaging global supply chains.
“China urges Canada to stop the unreasonably targeting Chinese companies (in Canada) and provide (them) with a fair, impartial and non-discriminatory business environment,” Zhao told a regular news briefing, adding that Beijing would resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies
Spot lithium prices have risen by more than 200% in the last year, driven by supply constraints that are expected to endure.
Rystad Energy forcast primary lithium minerals supply to be 8.5% short of the total lithium demand 2025, compared with about 10% short of demand this year.
“The latest attitude from Ottawa underscores the global competition of critical battery minerals in light of projected EV battery demand boom,” Susan Zou, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy, said of Canada’s decision.
The share price of Sinomine Resources fell 7.8% to 86.74 yuan ($11.86) on Thursday, while Chengxin’s share price fell by as much as 4% but closed at 0.7% higher at 45.65 yuan. Zangge Mining’s share price slid 3.7% during the day before edging 1.1% up to close at 28.96 yuan.
Last week, Ottawa said it must build a resilient critical minerals supply chain with like-minded partners, as it outlined rules meant to protect the country’s critical minerals sectors from foreign state-owned companies.
“The federal government is determined to work with Canadian businesses to attract foreign direct investments from partners that share our interests and values,” Champagne said.
Canada has large deposits of critical minerals such as nickel and cobalt essential for cleaner energy and other technologies. Demand for the minerals is projected to expand in the coming decades.
Earlier this year, countries including Britain, Canada and the United States established a partnership aimed at securing the supply of critical minerals as global demand for them rises.
($1 = 7.3163 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Siyi Liu in Beijing, additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing
Editing by Chris Reese, Sandra Maler and Barbara Lewis
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Piedmont Lithium announced Thursday that it plans to build a new lithium refining plant in Tennessee, as the U.S. rushes to develop domestic supply chains for raw materials critical to the energy transition.
Thursday’s announcement comes on the heels of the largest climate funding package in U.S. history, which President Joe Biden signed into law in August. The package includes incentives to jumpstart domestic supply chains for electric vehicle batteries, although Piedmont said plans for the plant were in development prior to the Inflation Reduction Act.
Now that the company has selected the site in McMinn County, it will begin the process of securing the necessary permits, which can be lengthy. Still, the company is targeting construction beginning in 2023, with production starting in 2025.
When fully operational, the plant will produce 30,000 metric tons of lithium per year, making it the largest lithium refining facility in the U.S, according to the company. Piedmont said it will churn out enough material to supply roughly 500,000 electric vehicles annually.
Piedmont currently has no active mines in the U.S., so once the facility is up and running it will process spodumene concentrate from Piedmont’s international operations in Quebec and Ghana.
Eventually, the company hopes to use lithium that’s mined domestically. The company has plans for a mine as well as another plant in North Carolina, although CEO Keith Phillips said it’s challenging from a permitting perspective, since both the mine and the plant are on the same site.
Albemarle runs the only meaningful lithium mine in the U.S., which is in Silver Peak, Nevada. Additionally, only 2.1% of lithium is refined in the U.S., according to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. China dominates the industry, refining more than half of global lithium supply.
Should Piedmont’s North Carolina mine and plant secure the required permits, however, the company forecasts its lithium output doubling, with the company supplying one million electric vehicles per year.
Piedmont Lithium’s announcement also comes as automakers are rushing towards vast electric vehicle fleets. By some forecasts, there simply won’t be enough lithium to meet demand in the foreseeable future. The International Energy Agency estimates that in order to meet the goals set forth in the Paris Agreement, lithium demand will grow by over 40 times by 2040.
Building new mines takes years. They’re capital intensive and can face permitting challenges. There are also those opposed to new mines, who argue that the world should instead focus on existing production.
Piedmont’s Phillips noted that in just the last year $33 billion has been announced for electric vehicle battery manufacturing plants in the U.S, which would require 500,000 metric tons of lithium annually.
“That is more than all the lithium hydroxide produced in the world currently, so clearly the industry is facing a critical resource shortage,” he told CNBC. “Anyone who can produce material to supply this market – especially domestically in the United States – will be in a favored position.”
Piedmont plans to invest around $600 million developing the Tennessee facility.
(Reuters) – California on Thursday approved a plan to tax the electric vehicle battery metal lithium to generate revenue for environmental remediation projects despite industry concerns that it will harm the sector and delay shipments to automakers.
Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, approved the tax as part of a must-pass state budget on Thursday. The state legislature had signed off on the levy during deliberations on Wednesday night.
The tax is structured as a flat-rate per tonne and will go into effect in January. The tax will be reviewed every year, and state officials have agreed to study potentially switching to a percentage-based tax.
The largest American state sits atop giant lithium reserves in its Salton Sea region, east of Los Angles, an area heavily damaged in the 20th century by years of heavy pesticide use from farming. Funds generated from the tax are earmarked in part to cleanup of the area.
Federal officials have praised the area’s start-up lithium industry because it would deploy a geothermal brine process that is more environmentally friendly than open-pit mines and brine evaporation ponds, the two most common existing methods to produce lithium.
Two of the area’s three lithium companies warned the tax would scare off investors and customers. Both said they may leave the state for lithium-rich brine deposits in Utah or Arkansas.
Privately-held Controlled Thermal Resources Ltd said the tax would force it to miss deadlines to deliver lithium to General Motors Co by 2024 and Stellantis NV by 2025.
EnergySource Minerals LLC, also privately held, said it halted discussions with potential financiers and an automaker.
“Supporting a tax that ensures lithium imports from China are less expensive for auto manufacturers to secure will devastate this promising Californian industry before it has begun,” said Rod Colwell, Controlled Thermal’s chief executive.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Michael Perry)
Summary: A small study found people who received lithium, a drug commonly associated with the treatment of bipolar disorder, are less likely to develop dementia.
Source: University of Cambridge
Researchers have identified a link suggesting that lithium could decrease the risk of developing dementia, which affects nearly one million people in the UK.
The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, conducted a retrospective analysis of the health records of nearly 30,000 patients from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. The patients were all over the age of 50 and accessed NHS mental health services between 2005 and 2019.
The analysis suggested that patients who received lithium were less likely to develop dementia than those who did not, although the overall number of patients who received lithium was small.
Their findings, reported in the journal PLoS Medicine, support the possibility that lithium could be a preventative treatment for dementia, and could be progressed to large randomized controlled trials.
Dementia is the leading cause of death in elderly Western populations, but no preventative treatments are currently available: more than 55 million people worldwide have dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease the most common form.
“The number of people with dementia continues to grow, which puts huge pressure on healthcare systems,” said Dr. Shanquan Chen from Cambridge’s Department of Psychiatry, the paper’s first author. “It’s been estimated that delaying the onset of dementia by just five years could reduce its prevalence and economic impact by as much as 40 percent.”
Previous studies have proposed lithium as a potential treatment for those who have already been diagnosed with dementia or early cognitive impairment, but it is unclear whether it can delay or even prevent the development of dementia altogether, as these studies have been limited in size.
Lithium is a mood stabilizer usually prescribed for conditions such as bipolar affective disorder and depression. “Bipolar disorder and depression are considered to put people at increased risk of dementia, so we had to make sure to account for this in our analysis,” said Chen.
Chen and his colleagues analyzed data from patients who accessed mental health services from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust between 2005 and 2019. Patients were all over 50 years of age, received at least a one-year follow-up appointment, and had not been previously diagnosed with either mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
Of the 29,618 patients in the study cohort, 548 patients had been treated with lithium and 29,070 had not. Their mean age was just under 74 years, and approximately 40% of patients were male.
For the group that had received lithium, 53, or 9.7%, were diagnosed with dementia. For the group that had not received lithium, 3,244, or 11.2%, were diagnosed with dementia.
The analysis suggested that patients who received lithium were less likely to develop dementia than those who did not, although the overall number of patients who received lithium was small. Image is in the public domain
After controlling for factors such as smoking, other medications, and other physical and mental illnesses, lithium use was associated with a lower risk of dementia, both for short and long-term users. However, since the overall number of patients receiving lithium was small and this was an observational study, larger clinical trials would be needed to establish lithium as a potential treatment for dementia.
Another limitation of the study was the number of patients who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which is normally associated with an increased risk of dementia. “We expected to find that patients with bipolar disorder were more likely to develop dementia, since that is the most common reason to be prescribed lithium, but our analysis suggested the opposite,” said Chen. “It’s far too early to say for sure, but it’s possible that lithium might reduce the risk of dementia in people with bipolar disorder.”
This paper supports others which have suggested lithium might be helpful in dementia. Further experimental medicine and clinical studies are now needed to see if lithium really is helpful in these conditions.
About this neuropharmacology research news
Author: Press Office Source: University of Cambridge Contact: Press Office – University of Cambridge Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access. “Association between lithium use and the incidence of dementia and its subtypes: A retrospective cohort study” by Shanquan Chen et al. PLOS Medicine
AbstractAssociation between lithium use and the incidence of dementia and its subtypes: A retrospective cohort study
Background
Dementia is the leading cause of death in elderly Western populations. Preventative interventions that could delay dementia onset even modestly would provide a major public health impact. There are no disease-modifying treatments currently available. Lithium has been proposed as a potential treatment. We assessed the association between lithium use and the incidence of dementia and its subtypes.
Methods and findings
We conducted a retrospective cohort study comparing patients treated between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2019, using data from electronic clinical records of secondary care mental health (MH) services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), United Kingdom (catchment area population approximately 0.86 million). Eligible patients were those aged 50 years or over at baseline and who had at least 1 year follow-up, excluding patients with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia before, or less than 1 year after, their start date. The intervention was the use of lithium.
See also
The main outcomes were dementia and its subtypes, diagnosed and classified according to the International Classification of Diseases-10th Revision (ICD-10).
In this cohort, 29,618 patients (of whom 548 were exposed to lithium) were included. Their mean age was 73.9 years. A total of 40.2% were male, 33.3% were married or in a civil partnership, and 71.0% were of white ethnicity. Lithium-exposed patients were more likely to be married, cohabiting or in a civil partnership, to be a current/former smoker, to have used antipsychotics, and to have comorbid depression, mania/bipolar affective disorder (BPAD), hypertension, central vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, or hyperlipidemia.
No significant difference between the 2 groups was observed for other characteristics, including age, sex, and alcohol-related disorders. In the exposed cohort, 53 (9.7%) patients were diagnosed with dementia, including 36 (6.8%) with Alzheimer disease (AD) and 13 (2.6%) with vascular dementia (VD). In the unexposed cohort, corresponding numbers were the following: dementia 3,244 (11.2%), AD 2,276 (8.1%), and VD 698 (2.6%).
After controlling for sociodemographic factors, smoking status, other medications, other mental comorbidities, and physical comorbidities, lithium use was associated with a lower risk of dementia (hazard ratio [HR] 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.40 to 0.78), including AD (HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.82) and VD (HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.69). Lithium appeared protective in short-term (≤1-year exposure) and long-term lithium users (>5-year exposure); a lack of difference for intermediate durations was likely due to lack of power, but there was some evidence for additional benefit with longer exposure durations.
The main limitation was the handling of BPAD, the most common reason for lithium prescription but also a risk factor for dementia. This potential confounder would most likely cause an increase in dementia in the exposed group, whereas we found the opposite, and the sensitivity analysis confirmed the primary results.
However, the specific nature of the group of patients exposed to lithium means that caution is needed in extending these findings to the general population. Another limitation is that our sample size of patients using lithium was small, reflected in the wide CIs for results relating to some durations of lithium exposure, although again sensitivity analyses remained consistent with our primary findings.
Conclusions
We observed an association between lithium use and a decreased risk of developing dementia. This lends further support to the idea that lithium may be a disease-modifying treatment for dementia and that this is a promising treatment to take forwards to larger randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for this indication.
Could LITHIUM stop dementia? Study reveals chemical prescribed to bipolar patients could cut risk of the memory-robbing disorder
Mental health patients given lithium were less likely to get dementia, medics say
Only 10% of patients on lithium got dementia, compared to 11% of other patients
While the study is small it provides evidence for more and larger experiments
Dementia charities welcomed the study and urged scientists to keep working
Study was based on the health records 30,000 British mental health patients
By John Ely Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline
Published: | Updated:
A mood-stabilising drug given to patients with bipolar disorder may cut the risk of dementia, a study suggests.
Lithium’s supposed benefits were uncovered by Cambridge University academics who analysed nearly 30,000 mental health patients.
Only 9.7 per cent of patients prescribed lithium got dementia, compared to 11.2 per cent among those not on it.
This is despite conditions like bipolar disorder being heavily linked to an increased risk of the cruel disorder.
Charities today said it was ‘vital’ that researchers follow up on the findings urgently, with no drug proven to prevent dementia.
Dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK, robbing 900,000 Britons of their memories.
Nearly 5milion people in the US are also living with the disorder, which academics have spent decades trying to eradicate.
Numerous other scientific papers have pinpointed lithium as a promising substance in the search for ways to combat the memory-robbing condition.
Lithium is naturally found in vegetables, grains and, at very low concentrations, in the water supply.
UK scientists have found patients prescribed the mood-stabilising medication lithium had lower rate of dementia diagnosis than other patients despite having an increased risk of developing the memory-robbing disorder. This could open the door to further trials to see if the metal could help reduce dementia risk
WHAT IS DEMENTIA? THE KILLER DISEASE THAT ROBS SUFFERERS OF THEIR MEMORIES
A GLOBAL CONCERN
Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of progressive neurological disorders (those affecting the brain) which impact memory, thinking and behaviour.
There are many different types of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common.
Some people may have a combination of types of dementia.
Regardless of which type is diagnosed, each person will experience their dementia in their own unique way.
Dementia is a global concern but it is most often seen in wealthier countries, where people are likely to live into very old age.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED?
The Alzheimer’s Society reports there are more than 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK today, of which more than 500,000 have Alzheimer’s.
It is estimated that the number of people living with dementia in the UK by 2025 will rise to over 1 million.
In the US, it’s estimated there are 5.5 million Alzheimer’s sufferers. A similar percentage rise is expected in the coming years.
As a person’s age increases, so does the risk of them developing dementia.
Rates of diagnosis are improving but many people with dementia are thought to still be undiagnosed.
IS THERE A CURE?
Currently there is no cure for dementia.
But new drugs can slow down its progression and the earlier it is spotted the more effective treatments are.
Source: Alzheimer’s Society
At much higher levels, it is sometimes prescribed on the NHS as a treatment for a variety of mood disorders, such as mania, depression, and bipolar.
Scientists examined the medical records of 29,618 over-50s who accessed mental health services at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
None of the participants — who were followed for up to 14 years — had either mild cognitive impairment or dementia when the study began.
Around 550 patients had been prescribed lithium, allowing the experts to compare whether the drug lowered the risk of dementia.
Results were published in the journal Plos Medicine.
Lead author of the study Dr Shanquan Chen said the finding was unexpected, given people with bipolar disorder have been found to be more at risk of dementia.
‘It’s far too early to say for sure, but it’s possible that lithium might reduce the risk of dementia in people with bipolar disorder,’ he said.
But the study was only small, and bigger experiments are needed to piece together any link.
Dr Sara Imarisio, from Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: ‘There is a desperate need for new dementia treatments.
‘Where there is evidence an existing, widely used, relatively safe and inexpensive drug could help, it is vital researchers follow up on this as quickly as possible.’
Medics are unsure exactly how the metal could have a protective effect.
Some have suggested lithium could inhibit enzymes responsible for the formation of the toxic proteins that build up in the brain from Alzheimer’s disease and cause brain cells to die.
It comes after a study of 800,000 people in Denmark in 2017 found those who drank water with a high concentration of the metal were 17 per cent less likely to have dementia.
However, the results were not clear cut with people in the middle exposure bracket 22 per cent more likely to have dementia than the low exposure group.
Some experts have said when it comes to drinking water, other elements like calcium could be playing a role.
Lithium medication should only be taken on prescription as the dosage is unique to each patient. Taking too much can cause potentially life threatening problems with organs like the kidneys.
Share prices drop as cancellation seen as major setback
Cancellation will mean greater shortage of lithium – analyst
MELBOURNE, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Shares in Rio Tinto tumbled on Friday after Serbia revoked its lithium exploration licences over environmental concerns, hurting the Anglo-Australian miner’s ambition to become Europe’s largest supplier of the metal used in electric vehicles.
The decision by Serbia comes as it approaches a general election in April, and as relations between Belgrade and Canberra have soured after Sunday’s deportation of tennis star Novak Djokovic from Australia over its COVID-19 entry rules.
It is also a major setback for Rio (RIO.L), (RIO.AX), which was hoping the project would help make it one of the world’s 10 biggest producers of lithium, a key ingredient in batteries.
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The mine is Rio’s only lithium project and the company announced just a month ago a deal to buy a second lithium asset for $825 million, as it looks to build its battery materials business.
Rio’s shares in Australia closed down 4.1% after falling as much as 5.1% in the Australian stock market, its worst intra-day drop since August 2021. The benchmark index ended down 2.3%.
In London, Rio’s shares were down more than 3% by 0855 GMT, slightly underperforming their peers.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told a news conference in Belgrade that the decision came after requests by various green groups to halt the $2.4 billion Jadar lithium project that had planned to start production in 2027.
Thousands of people blocked roads last year in a protest against the government’s backing of the project, demanding Rio Tinto leave the country and forcing the local municipality to scrap a plan to allocate land for the facility.
The decision came days after ties between Australia and Serbia hit rock bottom as tennis star Djokovic was deported before he could play in the Australian Open.
Djokovic spoke out in support of “clean air” in a December Instagram story post captioning a picture of the anti-mining protests, which was published by digital sports platform The Bridge.
Twitter users were quick to joke about Rio being deported from Serbia.
Rio said it was “extremely concerned” by Serbia’s decision and was reviewing the legal basis for it.
The Australian government said it regrets Serbia’s decision to revoke Rio’s licences.
“We note the strong economic benefits of the significant investment by Rio Tinto in Serbia. Australian resources companies have an outstanding reputation around the world, particularly when it comes to their expertise,” the government said in a statement to Reuters.
Rio has already spent US$450 million in pre-feasibility, feasibility and other studies on Jadar to understand the nature of the deposit, the company said in a project fact sheet in July.
“The level of opposition to it has really ratcheted up over the last six months,” Credit Suisse analyst Saul Kavonic said of the Jadar mine.
“We’ve been highlighting for a while now there would be about $2 a share at risk if the government cancels it,” Kavonic said.
This week, Rio pushed back the timeline for first production from Jadar by one year to 2027, citing delays in approvals. read more
‘EVEN GREATER SHORTAGE’
At full capacity, the Jadar mine was expected to produce 58,000 tonnes of refined battery-grade lithium carbonate a year, making it Europe’s biggest lithium mine by output.
Experts said the world’s shortage of lithium had been forecast to last for another three years at least, but with the cancellation of the Jadar project, the shortfall would now last for several years. read more
“We’re at the point now where lithium supply is going to set the pace of electric vehicle rollout,” Kavonic said.
Robust global demand for the metal far outstripping supply growth has pushed lithium prices to a record in recent years.
Lithium futures , which started trading on the CME in May last year, have jumped 171% to a record $38/kg on Thursday, according to Refinitiv data.
In China, cash prices of lithium hydroxide monohydrate are trading around a record 262,500 yuan ($41,387.47) per tonne, up by more than 400% from a year ago.
Its state planner said on Friday that restrictions on purchases of new energy vehicles including EVs will be gradually removed in a “vigorous” push to promote “green consumption”, a plan likely to further increase demand for lithium. read more
($1 = 6.3425 Chinese yuan)
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Benchmark lithium hydroxide prices surge to record highs on global demand boom
Reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne; additional reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore; writing by Praveen Menon; editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Raju Gopalakrishnan
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
BELGRADE, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Serbia revoked Rio Tinto’s (RIO.L) lithium exploration licences on Thursday, bowing to protesters who opposed the development of the project by the Anglo-Australian mining giant on environmental grounds.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said the government’s decision came after requests by various green groups to halt the$2.4 billion Jadar lithium project which, if completed, would help make Rio a top 10 lithium producer.
“All decisions (linked to the lithium project) and all licences have been annulled,” Brnabic told reporters after a government session. “As far as project Jadar is concerned, this is an end.”
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Earlier this week, Rio had pushed back the timeline for first production from Jadar by one year to 2027, citing delays in key approvals. read more
Rio Tinto said it was “extremely concerned” by Serbia’s decision and was reviewing the legal basis for it.
The company committed to the project just last year, as global miners pushed into the metals needed for the green energy transition, including lithium, which is used to make electric vehicle batteries.
Brnabic accused Rio Tinto of providing insufficient information to communities about the project. In a statement, Rio said “it had always operated in compliance” with Serbian laws.
Thousands of people blocked roads last year in protest against the government’s backing of the project, demanding Rio Tinto leave the country and forcing the local municipality to scrap a plan to allocate land for the facility. read more
Thursday’s decision comes as Serbia approaches a general election in April and as relations between Belgrade and Australia have soured after the high-profile deportation of tennis star Novak Djokovic from Australia over the country’s COVID-19 entry rules. read more
Djokovic himself spoke out in support of “clean air” in a December Instagram story post captioning a picture of the protests, which was published by digital sports platform The Bridge.
Twitter users were quick to make jokes about Rio being deported from Serbia.
Serbia’s populist ruling coalition, led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), had initially showed support for lithium and copper mining, a stance that made it come under fire, helping erode the comfortable majority the party enjoyed in a 2020 vote.
Sasa Djogovic of the Belgrade-based Institute for Market Research said that the ruling elite “is losing popularity and because of that it is forced to fulfil the demands by activists.”
The SNS-led coalition is expected to hold parliamentary and presidential elections on April 3, although the date is yet to be officially confirmed by President Aleksandar Vucic.
“We are listening to our people and it is our job to protect their interests even when we think differently,” Brnabic said on Thursday.
Earlier this month, Brnabic said Rio’s Jadar development would be likely paused at least until after the elections.
“A compromise will be probably reached after the elections, so that there could be a renegotiation of royalties or value-sharing,” said a Rio Tinto shareholder, who declined to be named.
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Reporting by Ivana Sekularac, additional reporting by Clara Denina; editing by David Evans, Amran Abocar and Jonathan Oatis
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
The Spanish-Mexican team has found that the boundary between those objects which destroy lithium and those which preserve it lies at 51.5 times the mass of Jupiter. The brown dwarf Reid 1B is a major deposti fo lithium which will never be destroyed. Planets such as Jupiter and the Earth are even less massive and do not destroy their lithium. The Sun has destroyed all the lithium that was in its nucleus and preserves some in its upper layers, which are slowly mixing with its interior. Credit: Gabriel Pérez Díaz, SMM (IAC)
A team of researchers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE), Mexico, has discovered lithium in the oldest and coldest brown dwarf where the presence of this valuable element has been confirmed so far. This substellar object, called Reid 1B, preserves intact the earliest known lithium deposit in our cosmic neighborhood, dating back to a time before the formation of the binary system to which it belongs. The discovery was made using the OSIRIS spectrograph on the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Garafía, La Palma), in the Canary Islands. The study has just been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Brown dwarfs, also known as “coffee colored dwarfs” or “failed stars” are the natural link between stars and planets. They are more massive than
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7Li(d,n)24He reaction takes place in the process of primordial nucleosynthesis at the very beginning. Credit: Hou Suqing” width=”800″ height=”530″/>
Fig. 1: Artist’s representation of the evolution of the universe, with time flowing to the right in the direction of the red arrow. The 7Li(d,n)24He reaction takes place in the process of primordial nucleosynthesis at the very beginning. Credit: Hou Suqing
An international research team has recently updated the 7Li(d,n)24He reaction rate based on latest experimental data, which removes the significant ambiguity in the cosmological lithium (Li) problem from the perspective of nuclear physics.
The big bang is regarded as the most successful model to describe the origination and evolution of the universe currently. However, its success has been limited by the so-called lithium problem, which refers to the fact that primordial lithium-7 abundance is overpredicted by a factor of three in comparison to the value from observation, while predictions match the observed primordial deuterium and helium abundances.
From the perspective of nuclear physics, the accurate reaction rates of lithium destruction reactions are crucial for accurate prediction of the primordial lithium-7 abundance and further understanding of the lithium problem. Nevertheless, as an important lithium-7 destruction reaction, the 7Li(d,n)24He reaction has not been well studied before 2018.
In the latest study published in The Astrophysical Journal, the researchers updated the 7Li(d,n)24He reaction rate based on the recent experimental measurements on the three near-threshold beryllium-9 excited states. This work was conducted by an international team led by Hou Suqing at the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Fig. 2: Total reaction rate of 7Li(d,n)24He as a function of temperature in units of giga Kelvin where the green shaded band is its associated uncertainties. For comparison, researchers also plot the previous results from CF88 and BM93. Credit: Hou Suqing
In this study, the researchers found that the new 7Li(d,n)24He rate is overall smaller than the previous estimation by about a factor of 60 at the typical temperature of the onset of primordial nucleosynthesis.
In addition, they presented uncertainties of the 7Li(d,n)24He reaction rate that are directly constrained by experiments for the first time.
According to the researchers, the new results remove the significant ambiguity in the calculated lithium-7 abundance due to this reaction, which will be useful to understand the primordial lithium problem and probe exotic physics beyond the standard model.
The cosmological lithium problem
More information:
S. Q. Hou et al, New Thermonuclear Rate of 7Li(d,n)24He Relevant to the Cosmological Lithium Problem, The Astrophysical Journal (2021). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac1a11
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New study helps to understand cosmological lithium problem (2021, November 18)
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